The Fresh Market

3338 St. Charles Avenue | New Orleans, Louisiana

The What And The Why

The Fresh Market redevelopment is an adaptive reuse of a historic building, in a historic district, on a historic street. From its 1875 origins as the Bultman Funeral Home to its 2008 redevelopment into Borders bookstore to its 2012 use as The Fresh Market, this transformative urban location has remained a New Orleans icon.

Our Challenge

Developmentally, Stirling sought to maintain the façade of three late Victorian mansions that had been reassembled into Bultman, while performing a complete gutting and redevelopment of a one-of-a-kind interior space for a two-story store. Stirling worked closely with the City of New Orleans and numerous public agencies including the Historic Districts Landmark Commission, through the initial entitlements and two complex redevelopments.

Our Strategy

The iconic Garden District intersection of St. Charles and Louisiana Avenues is a prominent commercial corner that was depreciated. With the national economic crisis unfolding and Hurricane Katrina’s effects on our city, we sought to bring meaningful commercial activity to New Orleans.

Our Results

After Hurricane Katrina, the redevelopment into Borders was viewed as one of the most important projects and catalysts for development in New Orleans. With the national bankruptcy of Borders, we quickly redeveloped the building into The Fresh Market, resulting in a great use for the location and partner for the community. Our talented team remained adaptive in order to deliver a complex $5 million redevelopment on time and on budget, which continues to exceed performance expectations.

Stirling Properties was able to execute a strategic and creative vision through all levels of our full-service real estate company.